The Excerpt podcast: UN votes overwhelmingly for cease-fire in Gaza

On today's episode of The Excerpt podcast: The United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a cease-fire in Gaza. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Joe Biden push Republicans in Congress to pass a new funding package for aid to Ukraine. USA TODAY National Political Correspondent David Jackson looks at the influence of Donald Trump's base with Republicans. Artificial intelligence could transform the government. USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Nick Penzenstadler explains how the ATF is cracking down on DIY gun silencers.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Wednesday, December 13th, 2023. This is The Excerpt. Today, how the UN has again weighed in with a vote on the Israel-Hamas War. Plus, Ukrainian. President Volodymyr Zelensky presses US lawmakers for more support, and how the government is cracking down on homemade silencers for firearms.

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The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly yesterday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The vote included 153 in favor and 10 against, while 23 abstained. The resolution is not binding, but reflects growing opposition to Israel's offensive in Gaza, which has killed some 18,000 Palestinians, while leaving much of the territory destroyed and residents displaced.

Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel during an October 7th attack and took hundreds of hostages, many of whom still remain captive. The US and Israel opposed yesterday's UN measure, and the US vetoed a similar security council resolution on Friday, the only member to vote against it.

Still, at a fundraiser yesterday, president Joe Biden criticized the government of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for what Biden called indiscriminate bombing in Gaza. He also said that Israel risked losing support from other countries.

Amid increasing resistance to the war, the Biden administration is sending two top officials to the region. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will visit Israel later this week and speak with Netanyahu about an end point to major combat in Gaza. Next week, Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, plans to travel to Israel, Bahrain and Qatar.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Joe Biden gave a last-ditch plea yesterday to Republicans in Congress to pass a new funding package for aid to Ukraine. Biden evoked the name of Russia's leader in his remarks after meeting with Zelensky yesterday afternoon.

President Joe Biden:

Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine. We must, we must, we must prove him wrong.

Taylor Wilson:

Zelensky made his third trip to Washington since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. He met with Democratic and Republican lawmakers first, before heading to the White House in an all-day lobbying blitz. He said Ukraine has made progress in freeing half of the territories that Russia has occupied since the war began. And Zelensky said it was important for the free world to show unity.

Volodymyr Zelensky:

It's very important that by the end of this year we can send very strong signal of our unity to the aggressor and the unity of Ukraine, America, Europe, the entire free world.

Taylor Wilson:

Still, it's not clear whether Zelensky or Biden changed the position of enough Republicans, if any, to improve an aid package's chances in Congress. Several Republican lawmakers have said they will not approve additional funding for Ukraine without significant security measures at the US-Mexico border. Both chambers of Congress are set to leave town for the holidays at the end of the week. The White House has warned that US funding for Ukraine is expected to run out by the end of the year if no action is taken.

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Former President Donald Trump's base continues to hold major influence among Republicans ahead of the 2024 election. I caught up with USA Today National Political correspondent, David Jackson, for more. David, thanks as always for making the time.

David Jackson:

Hey, thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So David, what does polling tell us about how many GOP voters really consider themselves Trump supporters more than supporters of the Republican Party?

David Jackson:

About one-third. This is a question that's been asked in several polls, particularly ones conducted by NBC. And in November, that number was 34%. Fully 34% of the electorate considered themselves being more Trump supporters than Republican supporters. So, it's a very significant subset of the party and it gives the former president a big leg up in these delegate contests coming up.

Taylor Wilson:

Of course, everyone has their own reasons for supporting a particular candidate, but what are some of the reasons Trump's Base gives for sticking with him in this way?

David Jackson:

Because so many of them are anti-establishment, and that establishment includes the Republican Party as we knew it under guys like Mitt Romney and George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush. It's very much a reaction against what the Republican Party was for many decades.

Another part is that they simply like Trump. They like his style. He's very aggressive. He tells it like it is and all that kind of stuff. And other reasons include just the fact that many people just simply dislike the government for whatever reason, whether it's promoting diversity or helping corporations or stuff like that. But a large part of this cohort are simply anti-government.

Taylor Wilson:

And as far as Trump's Republican rivals, those who still have their presidential campaigns alive for 2024, how are they taking different approaches to deal with him and his base?

David Jackson:

For the most part, people see the Republican voters as thirds. They've got one third that are considered always Trump voters. This is the cohort we were just talking about. Another third are maybe Trump voters, and these are Republicans who voted for Trump in the past but are open to alternatives. And another third are the never Trumpers. These are people who won't support Donald Trump under any circumstances.

So, you've got the rivals to Trump are taking different approaches to these different groups. For example, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is appealing basically to the always Trump voters, saying that he's a better and younger model and can actually get some of the stuff done that Trump was unable to do. You've got Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina, and she's going mostly after the maybe Trump voters, people who've supported Trump in the past, but are looking around for possible alternatives and she wants to be that alternative.

And then you've got Chris Christie, the former Governor of New Jersey who's going after the never Trump voters. This may be a very big challenge because there just aren't enough never Trump voters to win a primary or a caucus. So Christie's, in many ways, is on a fool's errand, at least according to the pollsters that I talked to.

DeSantis also has his problems, because like we say, he's going after the always Trump voters, but most of them seem to prefer the original rather than some copy. Haley is generally considered to have the best strategy, and that is going after the maybe Trump voters, the people who are kind of on the fence.

Taylor Wilson:

And we know Trump still has an overwhelming lead in the polls, David. At this point, is there Republican pressure on some of these other candidates to drop out in order to center around one sort of Trump alternative for 2024?

David Jackson:

Very much so. There's an awful lot of pressure, just as there were pressure on folks who have dropped out. Mike Pence was hearing about this before he decided to exit the race. The feeling is that the opponents of Trump within the Republican Party feel like they'd have a better shot if there was just one alternative. So they're trying to get some of the lesser known candidates out of the race, particularly Chris Christie. He's only really competing in New Hampshire, and I think the most pressure is on him to get out because he's confined to one state and he has very little chance to win.

Taylor Wilson:

And David, if Trump were to lose out on the GOP nomination, what might this mean for the party and the Republican ticket next year?

David Jackson:

That's the source of a lot of angst among a lot of Republicans. One thing, most people suspect that if Trump were somehow to lose the primary, he would accuse the entire system of being rigged against him, so he'd have the same kind of complaints about the Republican nomination process that he had about the 2020 election.

And a lot of his people would agree with him, so there would be quite a bit of turmoil within the party. And the feeling is that a lot of these Trump voters might just leave the party and not vote in November if Trump was not to be the nominee.

Another possible angle is a third party situation. Trump has threatened to create a third party in the past, and if for some reason he were to lose the nomination this time again, I suspect he would revive those claims.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah, absolutely. All right, David Jackson, great insight as always. He covers national politics for USA Today. Thank you, David.

David Jackson:

Thank you, sir.

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Taylor Wilson:

The federal government may become a proving ground for whether rapidly advancing artificial intelligence will be or even can be embraced by the public. In October, president Joe Biden announced new actions, including proposed rules for how federal agencies can use the technology. The move required that each agency puts someone in charge of overseeing AI and launched a talent search to recruit AI experts to work for the government.

The focus comes as a growing share of Americans express concern about the role artificial intelligence is playing in daily life. Only 1 in 10 Americans surveyed this summer by the Pew Research Center said they were more excited than concerned about the increased use of AI. 52% were more concerned than excited. Meanwhile, the government's public list of current and planned AI uses includes more than 700 examples. You can read more about AI in government and what's next right around the corner with a link in today's show notes.

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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF, is cracking down on homemade silencer kits for guns. I spoke with USA Today investigative reporter, Nick Penzenstadler, to learn more. Nick, thanks for hopping back on The Excerpt.

Nick Penzenstadler:

Yeah, happy to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

So Nick, let's just start with the basics here. What are firearm silencers? What's their intended purpose?

Nick Penzenstadler:

Well, they're basically mufflers for your firearm. They're really seen by hobbyists and enthusiasts as an add-on device to either help make your firearm quieter or to shoot more accurately. It can help with muzzle rise and flash, but really, they're an add-on device that makes firearms operate quieter.

Taylor Wilson:

So how is the government cracking down on them?

Nick Penzenstadler:

Well, there's this new letter that the ATF put out that seeks to clarify this specific type of device that's been advertised as a solvent trap. And when you're cleaning your firearm, a solvent trap can be used to catch the extra cleaning fluid. But these specific devices are solvent traps that have all the trappings of a silencer, and when they're machined out a certain way, become silencers. So the ATF says, despite what they're labeled, despite what the marketing says on the internet, these are silencers. They're illegal to possess if you don't go through the right process, which is the manufacturer has to register them, pay the fee, and then you can legally possess them as a purchaser.

Taylor Wilson:

What are gun rights advocates saying about this pushback from the ATF and why does some gun safety advocates say that it's needed?

Nick Penzenstadler:

Yeah, so the gun rights community has been confused and frustrated with this process, where the ATF has regulated these types of items under one prong of the National Firearms Act, where you can register a device that you purchased. Because that was so delayed, they say they went to this process where they were basically machining their own parts that were silencers and still paying the stamp and paying the $200 fee. But the ATF says now that process is not legal. Gun violence prevention people are concerned about these devices because they are harder to detect the sound of gunshots, so they could be used in crime. They have been used in crime. They're harder to detect the flash, the gunshot noise, so they are viewed as a dangerous add-on to an already dangerous product.

Taylor Wilson:

Nick, it's not just silencers. What are some of the other types of related firearm add-ons that the government has really set its focus on?

Nick Penzenstadler:

It's important to remember that this is just one device in this string of add-on devices that the ATF has had to wrestle with, where enthusiasts or hobbyists have kind of pushed the boundaries of what's legal and what's not. So think of the bump stock after the Las Vegas shooting, which kind of harnesses the recoil of shooting a rifle to simulate automatic fire.

Recently, there was this big long fight about stabilizing braces and whether they were used for actual disabled people to shoot one-handed or if they're being abused, and again, should be illegal. Same thing goes for these things called forced reset triggers that simulates automatic fire or these so-called Glock switches that go on the back of a pistol. And again, there's a video attached to our story that simulates automatic fire, which the ATF says is illegal.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, Nick Penzenstadler is an investigative reporter with USA Today. Thanks as always, Nick.

Nick Penzenstadler:

Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. If you use a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.